12 replies to this topic

[Nathant2131]

I have 9 Lasius sp queens (likely neoniger) that I am getting concerned for heating.

 

I took them out of hibernation on March 9th and activated a 15 watt reptile heat cable for them a few hours ago. My setup is a strange one. The test tubes are glass. The cable is in this pattern (shown in the pic) and strapped down with electrical tape, everything on this strange hard tile surface. The thing is though, everything is covered with an upside down pot, so the temp is it's own specific thing, only slightly influenced by the temp in my room (high sixties, low seventies, but sometimes drops to mid or low sixties). I have a guage to identify the temp of inside the pot (but not the temperature of the cable or tubes) and it says 74-76 F. What I am concerned about is if this is too hot, especially since the tubes are likely to be a lot warmer than the inside of the pot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too hot? If so, what should I do If I still want to use the heat cable?

Edited by Nathant2131, March 17 2017 - 2:50 PM.

[Nathant2131]

I am not liking heat cables right now. I am thinking of an incubator for especially controlled temperatures. Would this work?

Edited by Nathant2131, March 17 2017 - 3:02 PM.

[Batspiderfish]

You probably need to figure out how to use your cable. The test tubes do not need to be touching them while you have that metal lid over the whole thing.

[Nathant2131]

You probably need to figure out how to use your cable. The test tubes do not need to be touching them while you have that metal lid over the whole thing.

Ok. Do you know if 76 F is too hot for this species anyways?

 

I also am thinking of raising the lid not enough to suck in light, but for some heat to escape.

[Batspiderfish]

 

You probably need to figure out how to use your cable. The test tubes do not need to be touching them while you have that metal lid over the whole thing.

Ok. Do you know if 76 F is too hot for this species anyways?

 

I also am thinking of raising the lid not enough to suck in light, but for some heat to escape.

 

I don't heat my ants. 78 degrees F is not too different from what the colony might experience in the summer time, but if you suspect that the tubes are hotter or you have trouble controlling the temperature, you might not want to use the cable.

[Serafine]

Why don't you tape the heating cable to the inside of that pot and cover it with a towel? This will still create a good warmth under the pot (which is made out of metal and thus will disperse the heat very well) but without frying the ants in their tubes.

[Works4TheGood]

I've found experimentally that having a heating cable directly touching the test tube is always too hot after taking a day or two to stabilize.  Here's what I did instead :  http://www.formicult...e-new-colonies/ .  I highly recommend this.  It takes a whole lot of guesswork out of ant keeping.

Edited by Works4TheGood, March 17 2017 - 3:29 PM.

[Kevin]

I don't recommend heating test tubes at all, because it greatly increases the risk of a test tube flood. I've already had 1 queen loose half of her brood.

[T.C.]

My apologies to go off topic, but have you ever tried combining the queens of this species. I put 10 in a tube once. I looked like 2 weeks in and alot of eggs. However I had it in the garage and it appeared a mouse had ate all of them.

[Nathant2131]

My apologies to go off topic, but have you ever tried combining the queens of this species. I put 10 in a tube once. I looked like 2 weeks in and alot of eggs. However I had it in the garage and it appeared a mouse had ate all of them.

L. neoniger are known to be pleometrophic on the founding stage (I have witnessed this myself flipping driftwood on beaches, this is actually how I collected most of these) But as soon as the first worker ecloses, one queen remains. I have seen up to 4-5 queens together.

Edited by Nathant2131, March 17 2017 - 3:55 PM.

[Nathant2131]

Found a new solution.

 

I put a tile over the cable, the tubes on the tile, capped off with the metal lid and guage. This should make things less dangerous and also cooler.

 

 

 

Thoughts on this?

 

Thanks for your reccomondations and info everybody. I now love and hate heat cables.

 

 

[thosaka]

I can't believe insect growth chambers cost 21,000 dollars. Should I get a car or an insect incubator? Hmmmmm..... 

[Nathant2131]

Looks like this technique is working good. At least to my understanding.

 

Its been in between 72 and 73 F since morning, and the tubes are probably the same if not slightly warmer. Perfect.

Edited by Nathant2131, March 18 2017 - 1:01 PM.